Hubris
by ieheretic
Summary: Unable to withstand Babidi's possession, Vegeta makes different choices – ones that are not wholly his own – after gaining the power he has always coveted.
1. Chapter 1

I know I am not a good person. Yet I'd begun to think that, perhaps, I am no longer an evil one either.

But while rage is neither good nor evil in itself, what malevolence can be shaped with its dormancy? To what end does an insidious core bide its time?

Years. That's how long I've been waiting for this chance.

That old obsession, the worm in my apple, brought to life once more – although _he_ is not alive. I was made very clear of that fact by the halo over his head and the insufferable, familiar smile on his face, free of cares.

He arrived on a whim and stays for the danger looming over us. His time will run out all the same, no matter that I am becoming a spoke of the wheel that turns towards destruction.

What I've done is a calculated risk.

As the indescribable pain begins to ebb, transforming into raw strength, I know that I've weighed my odds against one another. Yet I also understand that I no longer care about this bet being in my favour or not.

I care nothing of what the god before me thinks I am, nothing for the self-righteous youth who was once a greater warrior than I, and certainly nothing for the fool of a man who will never give up daring to look me in the eye.

They, ever so quick to judge from their high-horse, are telling me to fight this. They don't realize I have always done so – but now, I am free from the suffocating constraints of their morality, of my own conflict.

The earth and craft around us are still once more, the echoes of my screams of anguish gone silent. I am crouched on the floor, wracked with the ache left behind but so very, very alive.

"Vegeta... It's okay, we're here," a familiar voice attempts to soothe. "We're going to help you get back to normal."

I hear him shift, and then another, softer voice halts him.

"No, stop – it's too late..." the god says.

I pull myself to my knees, and then to my feet, unfurling myself from the cocoon I'd made of my body. I can smell the fear and anxiousness of those present, proof of what I've beckoned forth from within.

The stigma on my forehead burns in anticipation and, unable to help myself, I laugh. It has been far too long since I experienced freedom such as this.

In the peripheral focus of my thoughts, I can hear the three persons in the room with me speaking to each other.

"Look at his head. It has an _m_ on it like Dabura's!" the half-blood boy exclaims.

"The _m_ is Babidi's insignia. Vegeta is the new recruit that Dabura was talking about!" the god replies.

Wanting to test myself, though I am already in my ascended form, I let my aura flex as it had done a minute ago. I'm curious about what extent my new powers can achieve.

"Are you saying that Vegeta's against us now?" the familiar fool asks. The god mutters a reply to him, and at that moment I bring my gaze up from the floor to meet theirs.

They gape at me, in awe, in trepidation, and then the room goes dark and I know that the wizard is transporting us somewhere else.

When the shadows clear, the brightness of an open sky and the din of a thousand onlookers blanket our senses. My former companions are caught off-guard, looking this way and that in clumsy movements as they take in their new surroundings. Our wizard has a sense of theatricality – we are situated in the centre of the tournament arena, lingering on the cracked pale tiles that held the contestants of what is but a children's game.

"E – excuse me, gentleman, but the championship has already been concluded," the blond announcer says from where he stands a few feet away from us. "You all look very strong, but I'm sorry. I guess there's always next year!"

"We're just here for a little exhibition match," I say to him, keeping my eyes trained beyond him. In the corner of my vision, I see the man hesitate, but in an abrupt change of demeanour he turns and notices Kakarot.

"Hey, Goku! I didn't see you back there," the announcer blurts, as if I were not standing right in front of him. Then, the man sets up a stride and makes as if he's about to walk _past_ me, like I am no more than air.

When he crosses on my right side without so much as a glance, I realize that every bit of his audacity is intentional. He – like everyone else – cares only for the precious poster boy Kakarot.

"You and your friends have arrived a little too late," the spokesman continues to Kakarot, oblivious to me as my ki spikes.

The hapless human, as well as the other weaklings on the platform, are blown away as I raise my energy with a cry of frustration. The sickening creatures are so blissfully unaware of their own frailty, even as they are scattered like dead leaves across the battleground.

I smile when their startled screams reach my ears, only for the sounds to be overtaken by a powerful, grating voice in my head. With it comes an impulse the likes of which I have never felt before.

 _ **"Vegeta, this is your new master Babidi speaking. It's time for you to have a little fun. You can start by killing your friends!"**_ the wizard's words sear in my awareness.

The order jolts through me, along with a feeling that is my own, and I decide I dislike this command.

"I won't. My goal is to fight Kakarot. The – the others are nothing," I tell Babidi out loud, though I am unsure if anyone else can hear his voice. I struggle to speak the words; it seems controlling my own will under the magician is a greater task than I'd thought.

As I regain my willpower from the temporary slip, I hear Kakarot plead from several feet behind me.

"Vegeta. How could you?" he says.

When I turn to face him, I see everyone, including the Supreme Kai, cowering behind him.

I take one good look at Kakarot's boorish, dewy-eyed and disappointed expression and it's enough to rekindle the rage in my heart.

Taking a firm stance, I raise my arm and point a solitary finger at him, accusatory. I was going to get what I was owed, and I had no qualms about beating it from him if he refused to combat me by choice.

"It's time, Kakarot," I threaten, watching him for a moment before I close my fist, reshaping it into a palm from which I can fire attacks.

Kakarot's eyes widen as he understands. "Vegeta, no!" he cries, aware of the danger going ahead with this would present. I am aware of the danger too, and I don't care.

I chuckle to myself as I can almost see the cogs – what few he has – turning in Kakarot's head as he scrambles to come up with words to stop me. Before he can utter a thing, I summon a burst of energy to my extended hand and fire the scorching blast at point-blank. He throws his arms up to defend himself.

Instead of cutting off the beam, I send a continuous stream of energy into it, pushing Kakarot back. His boots slide on the tiles as he maintains a desperate shield to prevent the attack from going awry, into any bystanders. I knew he wouldn't risk such a thing, but then again, he isn't hard to predict. Dead or alive, he does not fear pain.

When Kakarot reaches a point where he refuses to budge any more, I let out a yell and put more force into the onslaught, resuming his path backwards at a faster rate.

In a final moment of desperate resignation, he somersaults from the beam's trajectory, sending the energy careening towards the balconies.

Gohan's nearby cry of horror soon blends with that of the onlookers. The humans have mere nanoseconds to comprehend what is about to happen as they, and everything for almost a mile behind them, is vaporized in the massive blaze of my attack.

A smoke plume and a swath of twisted metal and earth is all that's left as the glow fades.

My eyes graze over my handiwork, admiring the now absent chunk of the tournament stands and the vapour cloud that obstructs the sky behind it. It's been an eternity since I have allowed myself to indulge in such destructive urges and not feel a thing.

Sparks of energy crackle around me, my body humming with the mere sip of potential I allowed it. While I bask in this sensation, Kakarot trembles across the arena, in shock of a long-thought buried side of me being shown. Then he turns, his features contorting into the rage that I had hoped to entice from him.

"Shame on you," he growls, turning to face me. "The Vegeta I know would _never_ have done this."

I smirk. As a man without such demons, Kakarot has a lot to learn.

"Don't do this! Please, don't do this," Gohan cuts in from off to the side.

Kakarot and I ignore him, locked in our stares that communicate more than words can. My rival's expression now holds a wariness, a slow dawning of realization that I'm prepared to follow whatever whim of mine I please.

I have the vague knowledge that one of the humans is yelling at me from somewhere behind my position. When the sound of his voice becomes too grating on my nerves, I bark at him to shut up as I glare at Kakarot.

"How about it?" I beckon to the other warrior. "Shall we commence?" I am, of course, referring to our battle – the very same that has remained unsettled since the day I first laid eyes on him. Kakarot knows this; it is his instinct as much as it is mine. To seize strength, give blood for it.

And then, like the idiot thinks he can stop me or himself, he speaks near blasphemous words. "This isn't the time, Vegeta."

"You'll fight with me, Kakarot. Unless, of course, you'd like more bodies to pile up on your conscience," I say in return.

Kakarot's eyes widen. "Vegeta. Certainly you didn't..."

When all I do is laugh at him because he knows the truth, he sighs.

"How sad. I didn't think you were weak enough to be controlled."

I know he's trying to get a rise out of me, just as I'm doing the same with him, but Gohan doesn't understand and tries to warn his father off. But Kakarot doesn't care.

"Answer me! Vegeta – do you let yourself be a slave?!" he demands with an outburst.

In an almost lazy motion, I raise my arm again, this time aimed off to my right. Before he can react, I once again let loose a colossal blast of energy towards the human onlookers.

A flash of light and the familiar sound of an explosion reach my senses, paired with another rounds of screams.

"Tell me..." I challenge. " _Is it slavery when you get what you want?_ "

It is with this that I know I have him. I watch him clench his fists, on the cusp of transforming, but then –

"Stop! You don't know what you're doing!" Gohan both physically and verbally cuts in.

My anger bubbles and I cast a ripple of energy in his direction. He is inconsequential, but I hold him no exceptional ill will.

"Stand aside!" I hiss, watching him land hard on his back. "This does not concern you! It's between me and your circus clown of a father!"

"Circus clown? Well, that's a new one," Kakarot says. He still hasn't broken eye contact with me, despite my momentary distraction.

The hot sun beats down on us and a trickle of sweat runs down my temple as I watch him ascend, his hair becoming golden and his eyes teal.

I stand up to my full height, prepared to begin when yet one last interruption comes between us.

"No, Goku, you mustn't," the so-called god pleads. "If you fight him, you'll be doing precisely what Babidi wishes. Every injury that Vegeta causes will be sent back to the ship as energy, and Buu will be revived!"

"Tell me, Vegeta," Kakarot says, ignoring the Supreme Kai, "with that stamp on your head, I know Babidi's been giving you orders. Is this one of them? Are you trying to fight me because of him, or is this the same old story between you and me? Which one?"

"Does it really matter?" Gohan interjects.

"Not to you, Gohan, but to a warrior it matters greatly," I say. "And you know this as well as I do, Kakarot – in a day you'll be back to the dead, and I will _not_ miss this opportunity!"

"Who _are_ you people? Don't you see that the universe matters more than your meaningless squabble?" the Supreme Kai bursts out, at the end of his proverbial rope. But he isn't the only one.

With his words, the edges of my vision redden and my chest constricts. What right does he have to look down on me and call this meaningless? What have the gods ever done for us? I know that he, a faultless deity, cannot try to comprehend what I am, so how dare he snub his nose at the only thing in this universe that truly _has_ meaning?

"Meaningless, huh? _What do you know of meaningless?!_ " I shout, my ki blazing around me and sending debris flying.

"Spend most of your life ruled my another! Watch your race dwindle to a handful! And then tell me what has more meaning than your own strength!" I cry. "I have in me the blood of a Saiyan prince. He is nothing but a joke – yet I've had to watch him surpass me in strength, my own destiny thrown to the wayside!"

Kakarot watches me as I continue on without care of what I'm admitting aloud. "He – he's even saved my life as if I were a helpless child. He has stolen my honour," I say, then meet his eyes again.

"And his debts... must be paid!"

Kakarot narrows his eyes. For once, I cannot predict what he's thinking, though I hope – no, _need_ – him to fight back. My blood pumps with ambition, and the wizard's intentions flowing through me are in league with my own desires. There is no way for me, nor Kakarot, to escape this.

"Babidi!" Kakarot then calls into the sky out of nowhere. "Transport us to a place away from people! If you give me that, then I'll fight Vegeta!"

The god balks upon hearing this, then a determination crosses his youthful face.

"So be it," he says lowly, then moves to stand between us, facing Kakarot. The god spreads his arms out like a shield, as if he actually had the power to stop us.

"If you truly believe this is the right decision, then you'll have to get around me to do it!" he threatens.

I do nothing. I can see that Kakarot's focus has shifted to the small figure in front of him, calculating what should be done about it. The Kai is no bigger than Trunks, or Kakarot's own youngest son.

"Don't do this, Supreme Kai," Kakarot says at length.

"Goku, I'm afraid I have no choice," the god replies.

"Neither do I," my rival retorts. Then, in a slow but not hesitant movement, he raises his arm out in front of him.

I continue to frown, not understanding, until my eyes widen when I realize what Kakarot means to do if the god does not comply.

Blue light begins to gather in Kakarot's palm. Neither his aim nor the resolve in his eyes wavers.

One long, heavy moment passes, and then the god's arms drop by his sides.

"Do what you will. I can't stop you," the Kai says as he moves out of the way.

"I'm sorry," Kakarot says.

"So am I," the celestial being answers.

In a flash we are moved to a place that smells of dust baked in the heat. There is nothing around us but stone formations and flat earth spanning as far as the eye can see.

I take a brief look around before returning my sights to Kakarot. "I trust you'll have no more excuses, now."

"None," he replies.

In the background, I hear the god offering words of resolution to Gohan and proposing a new plan.

"While you two fight up here, Gohan and I will break open the ship's entrance and continue our assault against Babidi and Dabura. I believe we still have a chance at stopping them before Buu's revival. If tampering with the ship's entrance ruptures Buu's shell, it'll still be better than allowing him to reach full power from the energy lost by Goku," the Supreme Kai says, approaching the access point to the wizard's lair.

Even before the god finishes speaking, an odd sensation crawls up my spine, a precursor of _something_ along the network that manipulates my every muscle and nerve.

I find out what that something is when once more, Babidi's dictation rings out in the hollow spaces of my skull.

 _ **"Vegeta! Destroy this nuisance. Kill the Supreme Kai! KILL HIM!**_

The command hits much harder than before, the words echoing in my bones as the pain strikes with it. I know that if I comply without a fight, the agony will cease. But I deflected him once; I can do it again.

 _ **"The only way is to kill the Supreme Kai. Yes, KILL HIM Vegeta!"**_ the words demand, washing over with the strength of tidal waves.

I curl in on myself, palms pressing into my face and fingers into my temples like I could drive the voice out. It is a parasite, my body trying to reject the intrusion and losing the battle.

I drop to my knees. "Get – out – of – my – head," I growl out, though it pales in comparison to the force behind Babibi's order.

 _ **"You can't afford to let him live, Vegeta!"**_

One hand digs trenches into the dirt next to where my forehead now rests. In a disembodied way, I can hear my own screams of agony echo in the desert. The brand on my forehead burns; I am desperate to create ruin as the voice tells me to.

 _ **"KILL HIM, Vegeta, KILL HIM. By every fibre in your body, I command you to destroy! KILL, KILL THE KAI."**_

My eyes snap up and meet the round, dark irises of the Supreme Kai, and he understands only a moment after I do what is about to happen.

I know that I intimidated him from the beginning. I saw it when I threatened to blow up the starcraft, or him if he continued to get in my way and now he is before me, apprehensive of what I might do though he knows it already.

He created the embers of our universe, yet cannot comprehend the flames of destruction. It isn't naivety, but as I recall from his earlier attempts to free me from the wizard's first spell, why I do these things will never be a concept within his grasp. But it matters not.

He is the deity of life and I am about to take his away.

My body moves on its own, hand extending in a swift and sudden motion. Energy gathers in my palm in a way that is so familiar, yet involuntary for the first time in my life. It is a mere split second before that energy has left me and hits the Kai.

Gohan doesn't move from his position nearby fast enough, still isn't expecting the man he knows as the father of his brother's best friend to be capable of this.

The god knows his loss of control over the situation was inevitable, as is this moment – he can read every thought in my mind.

I wonder what he is thinking now as he collapses, no stronger than a shadow puppet.

"S – Supreme Kai!" Gohan calls out.

 _ **"Excellent, Vegeta! Now, finish him off!"**_

Gohan is fast enough this time to impede my course towards the mortally wounded god. My mind races a thousand ways, but my body moves of its own accord, that critical part of me no longer resistant to the wizard's commands. Gohan has no part in this, but the boy – no, a man now – who has saved my life will not be spared if he continues trying to stop me.

"Didn't I tell you to stand aside?" I growl at him.

"This isn't you! Look at what you're doing! Please, I know you can fight this!" he begs right before I move to strike him in a quick uppercut.

The blow makes a solid impact, but then Kakarot is in front of me and he knees me in the chest to create some distance between myself and Gohan.

I skid backwards, boots kicking up dust as I lock my gaze with Kakarot's.

"This is between us, Vegeta! Gohan, take the Supreme Kai and get out of here!" he says.

"Dad – I think he... he's dead!" the half-blood replies.

Kakarot's jaw tightens as he looks at me, though he speaks to his son. "Can you handle Dabura and Babidi alone?"

"But – but Dad -"

"The Supreme Kai wanted to prevent Majin Buu's resurrection at all costs. I need you to do that in his stead, Gohan!"

Gohan hesitates, but then there is a sound and he looks over at the ship's door.

"It's opened," he balks, and then Kakarot rummages inside the band on his sleeve and tosses something towards Gohan.

"Take it. It's one of the last two senzu beans, and I want you to be at your best. Don't worry about the Supreme Kai for now – we have the Dragon Balls. I know you can do it, son," Kakarot says.

"Enough of this chatter. Shut up and fight me!" I bark.

 _ **"The Kai is done for. Destroy the Saiyan, we need the energy for Buu's revival. Do it now!"**_

I strike the air where Kakarot's head was, his forearm moving to deflect my attack. He does the same with the next and the next.

"Gohan! Go! Do what you can!" he shouts. I do not take my attention away from him, but I know by the boy's moving energy that he obeys his father and descends into the bowels of the ship.

"The longer we fight, the more energy gets sent back to fuel Majin Buu. I'm not going to hold back, Vegeta," Kakarot growls.

"Just as I would have it! Let's just hope being dead for so long hasn't made you go soft," I reply.

We are no more than lightning on the wind to the golden eye of the sun, particles of sand whipping around us and fusing into crystal motes of glass.

* * *

 **A/N: There probably won't be more than five chapters to this story, but I'm not sure what the exact finished length will be so far - I also don't really have a plan for how often I'll update. I rated it T, just in case, because there might be one or two scenes that are a little dark.**

 **The word 'hubris' has its origins dating all the way back to ancient Greece. In that context, it refers to someone displaying a dangerous amount of pride, challenging the gods themselves with his arrogance and bringing about his own downfall because of it. Divine retribution is given in the form of 'nemesis.'**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'M STILL ALIVE, GUYS. And so is Hubris! I've just been really sidetracked with my other avocation(s) lately and haven't been inspired to write as much.**

 **Regarding the chapter, it still has some events that also happen in canon, but have been shortened a little so that I didn't have to write out the entire several-episode-long battle scene and whatnot. And then, of course, there are changes that don't occur in the original timeline. Enjoy!  
**

* * *

Kakarot's knuckles cut open the skin on my temple as he grazes it. A mere brush of contact from a Super Saiyan's golden ki would scorch any other, but this man and I survived the inferno that consumed our race; we fear no flame. Our blood boils like it would between the sun and sand of our lost planet – yes, our battle has always been fated. Yet I doubt that _he_ sees it so.

Though he is far from landing his first hit on me, he is also far from having the upper hand in this conflict.

I spin, left heel striking hard into his side. I almost crave the sensation of his ribs cracking – it's been so long since I felt bone shatter beneath me. But as expected, he takes the blow in stalwart fashion.

As I had not expected, he takes ahold of my leg and tosses me through the air and I careen into a nearby rock formation.

The stones crumble around me, my heart pumping harder than it has in a long time. Seven years of peace is almost a robbery to a Saiyan's nature.

"That's more like it," I growl at Kakarot. Blowing the debris away with my ki, I ascend back into the air, taking measure of my opponent once more.

Our auras generate static around us; we leap back at one another with a flurry of close-combat punches and kicks. All I can hear is the sound of his gi snapping in the wind with his speed and the impact of our blows.

My offensive strategy drives him back, further and further until he takes advantage of an opening as I throw a fist at his jaw. His own knuckles connect with my cheek in the same instant and my head is thrown to face the other direction from the force.

Furious that he's managed to land another hit, I reinvigorate my anger and pummel his chest and stomach a dozen times, hearing him gasp from the pain. When I move to knee his gut, he grabs my leg again but this time I shift to drop my elbow into the back of his neck and cause him to release me.

His position enables me to shift around so that I'm behind him; I summon my ki to my hands and fire point-blank at his back and he spirals to the ground below.

Smoke and dust rise from the broken earth and I halt in the air, alert for the slightest movement. Kakarot's momentum has driven him deep into a hole, dark enough that not even the dimmest golden glow of his aura is visible.

A brief flicker of light appears and I narrow my eyes. In a flash, a beam of energy shoots in my direction and I counter with the same. But Kakarot refuses to let up and as he rises from the ground, our attacks push against one another as we stream equal amounts of ki into them, both determined not to abate.

Still struggling, we draw close enough that the onslaught has become a luminous, swirling mass of power, nearly touching my fingertips. But I will _not_ lose to him.

"You're not going to win!" I let out. "Not this time!"

With a cry of effort, I pour as much energy as I can handle against the pressure. Kakarot does the same, and the metaphysical clash grows bright enough that I can no longer keep my eyes open lest I be blinded.

The ball of ki bursts, expanding outwards and throwing Kakarot and I in opposite directions. However, neither of us go far, him skidding across the rocks until he stops himself, clinging to the edge of a cliff.

I manage to catch myself before I hit the ground, righting my posture before I set down on both feet. Without wasting a moment for him to recover, I approach where he dangles from the precipice.

Taking a moment to admire that I have the high ground, I then reach and take ahold of his wrist in a crushing grip, lifting him so that we are eye to eye.

" _Uhf_... Vegeta," he says, refocusing his teal gaze onto my matching ones. I smirk. Before he can finish his words, I swivel and toss him back, hearing his satisfying impact with the stone face I'd almost crashed into myself.

I approach him once more, stopping several paces away. Kakarot attempts to regain his bearings, but I raise my hand, firing a group of small ki clusters towards him. But instead of striking him, they move to bind him in place against the rock, as I had intended.

"What's the matter? Not winning as easily as you thought?" I taunt, walking so that I am close enough like I'd be for any ordinary conversation.

"I – never said it would be easy," he grits out.

"Hmph. You won't be winning no matter how hard you try," I say. Just because I can, I slap him across the face. It's an oddly rewarding gesture, for all the time he's spent mocking me – _patronizing_ me.

But his expression now holds none of the scorn _I_ reserve for _his_ ridicule. It isn't that of a weakling cursing under the heel of his superior's boot. It is the same, determined and impenetrable glint in his eyes as always.

"What?" I bark at his ongoing silence. "Are you feeling angry? Humiliated? Is that it?"

I knee him in the stomach, hard. He chokes in agony, but still remains silent and trapped by my ki bonds.

Feeling my anger churn, I resort to my fists again, raining down blow after blow into his face until speckles of blood fly out. " _You don't know what humiliation is!_ "

I have forever seen my struggle against Kakarot as a consuming ambition. But I know that sentiment is not returned. His greatest opponent isn't me, has never been me. Even now, both overcoming me and preventing the monster's resurrection are the same in his mind: tools to surpass the limitations of his own strength.

It's maddening.

Kakarot now hangs limp from the bindings, still conscious but no longer meeting my eyes. I hope he understands even a fraction of the indignity I have suffered from his actions.

"Don't worry," I say to him. "I will teach you the bitter taste of humiliation, just as you have taught me. Me, the last Saiyan of true royal blood. I have the power to destroy entire worlds – whole civilizations once trembled at the sound of my name! But you didn't... did you, Kakarot?"

The honour of my people upon my shoulders, my own pride, had fallen to ashes at my feet. It was by his hands that I suffered my first real disgrace. My royal birthright, toppled by a mere commoner. The added shame when it was he, and not I, who had avenged our people with Frieza's defeat by stealing the place as the Super Saiyan of legend – a place that I'd been raised to believe was mine. And then, Kakarot had disgraced me further when the strength I had worked my whole life for was surpassed by his son, a mere child and a half-breed no less.

I am second to no one. I am subservient to no one. And yet Kakarot continues to torment me beyond the boundaries of death.

"It is time to take back what is mine. I will not life my life as your second. That time is over... Every breath you take is an assault to my honour. But no more, Kakarot! By my hands, you will be cut down inch by inch! The way you have cut down my pride!" I promise, forming a blade of ki around my hand.

But once again, I have forgotten the opponent that he truly presents. Before I can blink, he's torn his arm free along with a slab of stone, hurling both to strike me hard in the side of the head.

My ears ring and I stagger, but Kakarot does not relent and unleashes a flurry of blows to my midsection, ending with a kick strong enough to hurl me away.

I regain my senses with the crash that accompanies my landing in the cave-like structure. I realize I'm beneath the ground when I open my eyes and see only darkness.

Rolling to my feet, I waste no time before dimming my aura and retreating into the jagged jaws of the stone formations. I know Kakarot will follow me, and I intend to use the surroundings to my advantage.

Levitating, I rise to the ceiling and nestle myself among the stalactites, feeling their rough grain against my back and fingers. The air in here is cooler than the outside, reminding me once more of the burning mark on my forehead. I can no longer tell whether the wizard has chosen to leave me alone or if my own compulsions and his have blurred together for the time being.

It is only moments before Kakarot appears, standing in the patch of sunlight shaped by the mouth of the cave. His eyes are closed – he is trying to sense me.

I summon a moderate amount of ki to my palm, firing it off from my position before darting elsewhere while Kakarot is distracted. As the attack dissipates, I appear behind him and lock his shoulders with my arms.

He attempts to throw me off, taken by surprise. Locking my grip tighter, I flex my legs and we launch off, me twisting our orientation in the air to that he directly faces the oncoming points of the ceiling.

However, before he – or the both of us – are impaled, he grinds our trajectory to a halt. I sense his ki fluctuate before he throws me off with its propulsion, and he quickly manoeuvres to fire yet another torrent of energy in my direction.

The mass of our reverse tug-of-war expands, once again casting everything around us in blazing light. Our cavern is decimated, exposing us to the open sky once more as loose rubble swirls in the wake of our strength, another gaping crater torn into the landscape.

Kakarot and I lock eyes as we hover in the air, neither daring to look away lest the other make a sudden move.

When he comes at me again, not an ounce of strength has lessened from his earlier blows.

We go back and forth over the desert, clashing in the sky and on the earth and even over the water. The planet trembles in the aftershocks of our power and the soundwaves boom, rolling over the wasteland. The battle flows and ebbs; moments of triumph appear and vanish as quickly as they come. Neither of us is willing to give in.

Sooner or later we begin resettling more often to the ground. I am breathing hard, taking in gulps of air thought it sears my throat. I don't know how long we've been fighting, but Kakarot is in no better condition than I.

"I'm amazed, Vegeta," he says between heaves of his chest. "These last seven years in Otherworld I've been spending in intense training sessions. But we're still completely even. I guess this whole time you've been pushing yourself even harder than I have."

"That may be true," I reply, "I push myself to the edge of my limits and beyond. But you've been born with a natural talent far beyond my own. No amount of training could've closed the gap between us... I realize that now. It was made painfully obvious to me today as I watched your fight with Babidi's monster. Imagine my shock – to see the undeniable truth to discover that no matter how hard I try, I would never be able to catch you. So that's when I secretly made up my mind."

I trail off, letting Kakarot come to his own conclusions. I can see it on his face as the same shock from earlier reappears.

"You mean you really...! You fool! You deliberately let yourself fall under Babidi's spell!" he accuses.

"Yes," I confirm with a smirk. "I saw the power of his magic. At the World's Martial Arts Tournament, with the two henchmen he sent. No one who'd seen them fight in the previous tournament could understand how they'd become so powerful. But you and I know, don't we? I knew that if I allowed myself to fall under his control, the difference in our power would disappear... I'm quite pleased with the results, even if they do come at a price. I'd say the end more than justifies the means!"

"Vegeta! I don't understand! You've never allowed anyone to help you before in your life, why start now? Why Babidi?! You killed all those people in the arena and you killed the Supreme Kai – don't tell me his death was _your_ decision!"

"I couldn't care less about him! I _wanted_ Babidi to reawaken the evil in my heart, and if that blithering god had to die, so be it! I have done far worse... I wanted to be that way again, the way I was before! I was the perfect warrior, cold and ruthless and I lived by my strength alone, uninhibited by foolish emotion! But slowly... over the years, I became _one of you_. My quest for greatness gradually giving way to this life of mediocrity. I awoke one day to find that I had settled down... formed a family..."

I look up at the sky, the one whose colour ought to mean nothing to me. "I had even grown quite fond of them. Would you believe... I almost started to think the Earth was a nice place to live."

I draw my gaze back down to meet Kakarot's again. "Do you understand now, Kakarot? That's why I needed Babidi – to set me free of these petty attachments! And I have to say, it feels pretty damn good."

The other Saiyan purses his lips. "Do you _really_ believe what you're saying? You can talk all you want, but you'd better convince yourself of it first."

I'm about to answer when an unusual thrum of energy alerts my sixth sense, causing both Kakarot and I pause. The ki isn't near so large as ours, but carries a strange feel nonetheless.

"Huh? What is..." he wonders aloud, trailing off as his eyes seek the direction of the strange aura. It would be a perfect time to attack him, with his attention off-guard, but I too am curious to know whether this thing could _possibly_ be the Majin Buu they so feared.

"Is that – it must be him! Majin Buu!" Kakarot exclaims, and while I find it hard to believe, there is no other answer to the sudden emergence of this ki.

If it is Majin Buu, then they have been worried for nothing. Even taking my exhaustion into account, I would have no trouble defeating the creature. It seems the Supreme Kai had overestimated what millennia of stagnation did. That, or us _mere mortals_ have long surpassed the strength of the ancients.

Either way, the worry lacing Kakarot's features is almost comical.

"Gohan's there alone," he says.

"Surely, you must be joking," I all but laugh. "Your Majin Buu has turned out to be a weakling!"

"No – there's more to it than that! Something underneath..." he replies.

"Is that what you think? Perhaps the little Kai simply overestimated the creature. Don't you recall how he was constantly surprised at our strength? It makes more sense that mortals have simply grown stronger in the time since Buu was sealed!"

"That's not it. The Supreme Kai died trying to prevent this resurrection." His gaze bores like needles into mine. "And we're the ones responsible for letting it happen. Gohan won't be able to handle Dabura, Babidi _and_ Buu by himself. There's more at stake here than just our battle, Vegeta."

"What are you trying to say? You think you can make me concede just so you can rescue your pathetic son? Or perhaps you're looking to steal the glory once more by killing Majin Buu yourself?"

"... I don't know how much of what you do is under your control, but if we don't find a way to stop Buu now, we're all going to be in real trouble. Please, Vegeta. All I'm asking is that we save this until after the Earth is safe."

I could see how he was trying to manipulate me into yielding. But as there were no orders forthcoming yet from the wizard, I was free to make decisions without a fight.

It seemed Kakarot would be unable to focus upon me until that creature was dealt with. But if the idiot thought it was he who would get to play hero once more, he was mistaken.

I allow a small smirk to emerge. "Fine," I say. Kakarot raises a brow at me.

"You win," I clarify. "Our battle is postponed. I want you at your fullest when we fight, and you're obviously now too distracted by that ridiculous Buu."

The other Saiyan's expression relaxes, and he offers a smile in return, a sincere one, and says my name.

"Well, don't just stand there, get out your senzu beans. We should be at full power when we face him," I urge in a light tone.

Kakarot looks away, rusting in the sash banded around his waist as I approach, step by step. He already faces the direction he intends us to exit, leaving his back exposed. He trusts me.

What an utter fool.

"With all of us working together, I'm sure we can beat this guy," he says.

Without raising my energy, I lift my hands up and clench them together, readying myself for a swing. He doesn't even cast a glance my way.

I bring my fists down, knuckles making a direct hit on the back of his skull. I can hear the bluntness of the impact.

He drops like a stone, and I almost cannot believe it was this easy.

His hair fades from the colour of his halo to its natural charcoal as he lands face-first into the desert rock. I analyze him for a moment, ensuring that he is indeed unconscious, then step over him to retrieve the fallen healing token.

I put it in my mouth without a second thought. The beans were one of the few tools of Earth natives that had proved useful over the years.

Once my ki spikes back to its natural potency, I turn to focus on my new destination. The pulse of Majin Buu's energy beckons – Kakarot will not be going anywhere soon.

* * *

The wind snaps against my face as I soar through the air. As fast as I can travel in this form, Buu's ki has made unusual fluctuations in the time it's taken me to get this close. However, whether Kakarot was right in his predictions about the creature remain to be seen.

As I draw near enough to spot a pair of figures below, I scan the area to confirm what I can sense. Or rather, what I _cannot_ sense – Gohan's energy is absent, and the demon's has vanished as well.

"Vegeta!" Babidi grating voice shouts, catching sight of me. "I was wondering if you were dead. No matter, Buu is here, but one extra trick up my sleeve won't hurt."

My boots hit the dirt, raising a small puff of dust. I ignore the mottled hairball of a magician and narrow my eyes at the large being several metres away.

The repulsive creature is not near so ugly as its master, but obnoxiously pink and fat framed. Its features resemble an amorphous baby, but huge and hairless and with an antenna at the crown of the head. It dances, humming to itself in the childlike way its appearance suggests.

 _This_ was supposed to be Majin Buu?

"Impressive, isn't he? Imagine what we can do now that he's freed," Babidi says. I turn to look at him rubbing his hands together with glee.

"You cannot be serious," I say. "That bloated freak is Majin Buu? This is going to be even easier than I thought."

"Oh no you don't," the wizard threatens. "You almost slipped from my grasp once, and that won't happen again. _**I forbid you from moving or speaking until I tell you to**_."

I'm about to turn and deal with him once and for all – until I find that the cold pain in my stomach has returned and my muscles refuse to so much as flinch.

"See? You're mine, Vegeta. You think you can get away with using my power and not pay the price...? But perhaps I _should_ just kill you. I don't have Dabura anymore, but are you really of any use when I have my Buu here?"

I try cursing at him, but as he commanded, I can't speak either. I'm rooted to the earth, immobile as the stone edifices that dot the landscape.

Stone. Yes. Krillin and the Namekian were turned to stone by the demon's powers. Yet if he is gone, then they must have returned to normal.

But what happened to Gohan? If Babidi has truly rendered me inert, then the half-blood is the only one strong enough to take on Buu until I regain control. However, Gohan's energy is still nowhere to be found.

He must be dead.

The inner fire of my Saiyan transformation flickers, but it isn't enough to break away from Babidi. I can do nothing as he calls his monster closer, the lumbering thing turning its lazy attention to us.

The creature is the only one who doesn't appear surprised when a swath of ground between the wizard and I is suddenly struck by an energy blast.

Babidi hops back with a squeak of indignation and whips his head around to spot the interloper. Though I still cannot move most of my body, I don't even need to look to recognize the aura of our guest.

The furious child lands a short distance away, familiar head of violet hair shifting to gold from the root up as he touches down.

"You little brat! Where did you come from? You almost killed me!" Babidi shrieks.

"I don't know what you did to my dad, but let him go!" Trunks retorts. "I'm not scared of you and your stupid monster!"

"Trunks, wait for us!" another child's voice calls. A moment later, Goten appears skidding into the dust behind Trunks. The towering form of Piccolo follows suit, pale cape swirling in the breeze of his landing.

The Namekian eyes me from the corners of his vision, but says nothing as his gaze skirts over the insignia still branded on my forehead.

I don't know why the three of them are here, outclassed as they are. I'd given no thought at all to Trunks' whereabouts until now. I had assumed he'd be with the woman, back at the arena –

In the stands.

What is left of them.

"Majin Buu! Dispose of these pesky insects! Show them your power!" Babidi's shrill pitch interrupts.

I assume I am to be left here when the wizard utters one more order.

"And Vegeta! Make yourself useful – _ **protect me...!**_ "


	3. Chapter 3

Bulma is alive. I would know if it were otherwise. I would know if it was I who –

The flames. The screams. The hundreds of new faceless dead, but they're only faceless when something that's yours is not among them.

If the woman survived the explosion, then she's seen what I've done.

Something clenches in my chest before Babidi's magic can will it away. The thought of _her –_ the things I have been trying to suppress –

But I am given no more time to think as my body shifts, moving to act as an unwilling shield for the wizard as commanded. His hold over my mind has not broken; or rather, the prison of my covetousness I allowed to take root only steels itself.

Our group is at a standoff. The behemoth Buu has begun waddling its way over, setting the boys and the Namekian on guard. However, the latter's eyes flick back and forth between us as he hisses angry words in my direction.

"Where is Gohan?" he demands. "Did you kill him?"

"Do you see a body?" I riposte, finding my ability to speak returned.

"Then _where is he_?"

One of the boys begins to say something, to ask about Gohan when Babidi's voice snaps through the air again.

"Buu! Hurry up and get over here so you can devour these insects! Aren't you hungry?"

"Want to play! Want to eat!" Buu replies. The small beads that suffice as its eyes open, fixing upon us. "Me take turns with you!"

"Don't worry, Piccolo! Me and Goten will handle this overgrown freak, you get the ugly guy calling the shots!" Trunks says, shifting his stance to prepare for the oncoming monster – but also to place me within his peripheral line of sight. "Papa, what is he doing to you? Are you okay?"

"You boys, listen to me! Buu is stronger than it seems! Not only that, but Vegeta is under the wizard's spell! You two need to get out of here while you still can! Trunks... your father is your enemy right now!" Piccolo bursts out.

"That can't be! My dad wouldn't let himself be controlled by anybody!" Trunks turns to face me completely now, to confirm with wide blue eyes the brand on my forehead and whatever else he sees that keeps him transfixed with dread.

It is at this moment that Buu chooses to strike.

Catapulting itself through the air almost faster than the eye can follow, the creature lands with a huff of dust in the midst of Piccolo and the boys, causing them to scatter back from the force. The beast's beady orbs are fixed on the Namekian and Buu propels itself forward with arms outstretched, intending to catch its opponent in a crushing grip which Piccolo narrowly avoids.

"Hey! We weren't ready!" Goten chirps from his new position on the rocky plain. Trunks' movements had taken him closer to me, so he's now merely feet away from where I stand by Babidi. The wizard himself has flinched further behind me.

"Eyuck! Vegeta, kill the brat!" he hisses. "That little monstrosity dared to fire at me!"

The words soak in and suddenly my awareness is restricted from Buu's antics a distance away to only the boy and the wizard. I turn my gaze to Babidi briefly, as if my rage can pierce him by gaze alone, but he ignores the look. I whip my gaze back to my son.

"Trunks – you need to get out of here. _Now_."

The boy is as obstinate as the woman and I put together. Even if I tell him to go, I know he won't, yet I have no other way to make him understand except through my words.

"I won't leave you, Papa!" he cries, voice beginning to quaver. "We – we need to work together and kill this monster before it hurts somebody!" His gaze is blue and it stares into me; we're in the eye of the storm.

"What the hell are you waiting for, Vegeta? I said... _**kill him,**_ " the wizard bids. My breath is gone, but my body moves forward without me.

* * *

It's always been said that one should be careful what they wish for. I have wished for damnation and I received it.

There were times in my past under Frieza when I'd decimated planets with populations greater than this one. Billions of people who had meant nothing in my mind. Yet seven years ago I watched my son from another life die, watched his blood splatter over the earth and it caused something in me to crumble – the same place in me reserved for the young boy I have now.

But I've failed them both.

"Pa - ... Papa..." the boy chokes out. His hands look so small where they clutch at my forearm, his halfhearted grip enough to suggest some semblance of trust, or disbelief, remains in his mind.

The warmth of his throat in my hand betrays any notion that this isn't really happening. The soft places between his oesophagus and jugular veins give way too easily under my grip, like a shroud too thin.

" _Vegeta_!" Piccolo cries from somewhere in the distance, voice a mix of fury and panic.

I feel angry. Angry at my son. Angry that he didn't leave when I told him to, even though a small part of me still screams that this rage isn't mine. Something is twisted, misdirected. My vision has an ethereal quality, dark around the edges. Drowning.

Trunks is no longer using his legs to support himself but he holds my arm tighter, sallow grey spreading across his face. My son struggles to breathe, hoarse gulps of air passing every so often through his windpipe where he can manage them, eyes now shut in pain.

"What are you doing?" Goten cries. He is here now, tugging at my elbow while the earth quakes from the struggle of Piccolo against Buu. "Stop! You're his dad! Why are you doing this? Please stop, you're gonna kill him!"

Goten is his father's voice of reason while Kakarot cannot be present. Kakarot will try to push me in the directions he pleases, but he never makes choices for me. Yet I can no longer make choices for myself. And I relinquished this willingly.

A figure casts its long shadow over me, but I'm an instant too late to react as a large green set of knuckles strikes me square in the face followed by a palm-heel to the chin. I stumble and feel Trunks tugged from my grip with Goten pulled away as well but the Namekian doesn't stay to retaliate any further.

Recovering myself, I am just in time to see Buu barrelling down at me, the creature leaping after Piccolo and not caring that I am in its trajectory.

I spring away and the ground beneath where I stood is turned to powder, dust billowing into the hot air. I touch ground and go foot-over-hand to clear more space between the chaotic creature and I, to restore some vantage point for myself regarding the situation.

Arcing off into the sky in an attempt to escape, Piccolo has his hands full with the boys. Their meagre weight will not slow him down, but he won't be able to fight back should he be pursued. Despite his excellence as a tactician he would never risk the children. Trunks is motionless in the Namekian's grip, save the wind and movement tousling my son's soft hair as he dangles from Piccolo's protective arm.

"They're trying to fly away!" Buu notes with all the tact of a toddler. Before it can move, I raise a hand and release several red-hot energy projectiles in Piccolo's direction before launching after him.

As he is distracted trying to out-manouevre my attacks, I dart in with a swift kick intended to strike at his back. He swivels just in time, raising a knee to deflect the blow and use that same momentum to continue his rotation and hit back with a kick of his own. I use my increased strength to seize his leg without trouble and spin, releasing at particularly the right time to hurl him back to the earth. At the last second I see him clutch the boys to his chest and absorb the impact all upon himself.

The ground is rent with a deep scar following the Namekian's course against it until he slows to a stop against several large boulders. I descend to his point of first contact, my white boots stark against the overturned dirt.

"Not fair, not fair! It's my turn you mean man!" Buu shouts at me.

"I don't care which one of you it is – quit playing around and do the job, you lumbering brutes!" Babidi says as I hear him start to waddle over a ways behind me.

Piccolo gets to his feet, slightly off-balance but no less alert than before, using the boulders as a support. His alien eyes dart between his three opponents as he readjusts the children he carries.

When his eyes come to rest on me and he opens his mouth, I think he is about to try reasoning with me again – but that is not what happens.

"Krillin! Now!" the Namekian cries.

A small shape leaps over the boulders to land directly in front of Piccolo, raising its arms up against the sides of its face. Krillin's gaze fixes on me for the briefest flicker before closes his eyes.

"Solar flare!" he shouts, voice ringing across the wasteland, and then the world goes stinging white.

* * *

 **A/N: And Hubris has returned after its eternal, non-official hiatus. I never actually intended to neglect it for this long, but I really stuffed it to the bottom of the pile and... yeesh, it's been a whole year. All I can say is sorry to those of you who were waiting for this update, but here it is.**


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